Explaining the Housing Market via Footwear

What the shoe industry can teach us about the housing crisis.

2 minute read

January 3, 2024, 6:00 AM PST

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Wall of colorful sneakers for sale at a shoe store.

JackF / Adobe Stock

In an excerpt from their upcoming book, Escaping the Housing Trap: The Strong Towns Response to the Housing Crisis, Charles Marohn and Daniel Herriges claim that “If We Made Shoes Like We Make Housing, People Would Go Barefoot.”

To illustrate their point, the authors write, “Imagine a shoe market that produces only two kinds of shoes: a high-end loafer and an elite-brand tennis shoe.” Companies and governments incentivize the production of just two types of shoe, and “Local permitting restricts the number of shoes that can be made. Rising prices have bloated supply chains, making everything more expensive. The extensive web of public and private capital vested in producing high-end loafers and elite-brand tennis shoes stifles innovation.”

In this world, “Lots of people who want shoes can’t get them. They go barefoot. Those who can buy shoes feel financially squeezed. Price increases are normalized, even expected. Many people are desperate to get any pair of shoes.”

This scenario seems unrealistic—for shoes. “Yet our present housing crisis, which seems normal to us, would be absurd to anyone living a century ago. In the context of millennia of human development, we are the first culture to find ourselves with a chronic shortage of housing.”

For the authors, the answer is clear: “We wiped out the starter rung on the ladder. We need a housing market that produces penny loafers again.”

Tuesday, January 2, 2024 in Strong Towns

Single-family homes in a suburban neighborhood in Florida.

New Florida Law Curbs HOA Power

The legislation seeks to cut down on ‘absurd’ citations for low-level violations.

June 16, 2024 - The Guardian

Multistory apartment building under construction.

New Tennessee Law Allows No-Cost Incentives for Affordable Housing

Local governments in the Volunteer State can now offer developers incentives like increased density, lower parking requirements, and priority permitting for affordable housing projects.

June 10, 2024 - Nooga Today

Aerial view of intersection in New York City with yellow cabs and zebra crosswalks.

Planners’ Complicity in Excessive Traffic Deaths

Professor Wes Marshall’s provocatively-titled new book, "Killed by a Traffic Engineer," has stimulated fierce debates. Are his criticisms justified? Let’s examine the degree that traffic engineers contribute to avoidable traffic deaths.

June 13, 2024 - Todd Litman

Brick high-rise apartment buildings in New York City

Study: Housing Crisis is About Affordability, not Supply

New research shows that there is no overall shortage of housing units, but all U.S. metropolitan areas face a severe lack of affordable units for low-income renters.

June 18 - University of Kansas

Couple on one side of desk with banker on other side looking at paperwork.

Are Race-Based Lawsuits Affecting Community Lenders?

Shelterforce spoke with community lending leaders and experts about the current mood across the sector. What, if anything, are organizations doing to avoid becoming the next target of conservative activists?

June 18 - Shelterforce Magazine

Rendering of Glory Park in Lewisville, Texas.

New Park Promotes Community and Connectivity in Lewisville, Texas

The city of Lewisville just celebrated the opening of Glory Park/Parque la Gloria, helping to improve park access and the quality of life for residents.

June 18 - Lewisville Leader

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.